![](https://www.sardinesmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/David-Ribi-as-Peter-Pan-Ricky-Champ-as-Captain-Hook-cElliot-Franks-1-jpg.webp)
Show: The Further Adventures of Peter Pan: The Return of Captain Hook
Society: Fairfield Halls Croydon
Venue: Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield Halls. Park Lane, Croydon, Surrey CR9 1DG
Credits: Written by Jon Monie. Produced by Martin Dodd for UK Productions
Type: Sardines
Author: Susan Elkin
Performance Date: 13/12/2022
The Further Adventures of Peter Pan: The Return of Captain Hook
Susan Elkin | 14 Dec 2022 00:00am
David Ribi as Peter Pan fighting Ricky Champ as Captain Hook. Photo: Elliot Franks
There’s quite a lot to admire in this show. Some of the acting is strong, the six juvenile dancers (from TEAM Dance Academy and Bright Sparks Performers Theatre & Dance Academy) are unusually good and there is some slick word play. It’s also quite a novelty to see a panto where I don’t actually know the plot narrative. And it’s a refreshing change to see a daytime performance as part of an audience of excited school parties and groups of special needs adults – all clearly having a whale of a time, to quote Ethel Mermaid (Emma Jay Thomas – good) in the show.
But – and of course you knew there was a “but” was coming – a panto without a dame, and including quite lengthy passages of expositional dialogue like a straight play, feels oddly unbalanced and unlike a pantomime. There is no slosh scene either and production values and cast size are generally pretty modest.
Jon Monie’s plot takes us to the Darling family nursery in the present time where Emily Darling (Ohaana Greaves) is arguing with her mother. She’s rather attached to her phone. And we learn that Great Great Granny Wendy is now 104. No, I couldn’t work out the maths either. There is no way that J.M. Barrie’s heroine was born as late as 1918 but that’s probably a nit-picky thought. Inevitably Emily is then whisked off to Neverland (understated upstage flying from wing to wing only) where, it turns out that Hook didn’t actually die. So, Peter has to beat him in a hand-to-hand fight – again. Emily meanwhile takes photographs on her phone, baffles the other characters with terms such as “wi-fi” but saves the day with GPS.
Gemma Hunt is oustanding as Tinkerbell. She commands the stage whenever she’s on it, twitching her wings, managing her fairy entourage, smiling and exuding decency. She looks lovely too. She clearly isn’t a singer, though, and does her Big Number in a sort of articulated speech to music.
Thomas, however sings splendidly as does David Ribi as the eponymous Peter. And Mark Rhodes is a charismatic, appealing Smee, now commanding the Jolly Roger only to lose it again when Hook reappears. He does some entertaining funny voices and knows how to deliver a joke. Ricky Champ, as Hook, cackles with appropriate menace and sings with chocolate brown gravitas.
The best joke of the whole show comes at the end of the ghost scene which has to end differently from usual because there’s no Dame to frighten the ghost. Instead Emily scares the ghost away with a photograph on her phone – no spoilers but it made me laugh a lot and I’m still chuckling.